Maya Yoshida celebrates after scoring Japan's equalizer against Vietnam during a World Cup qualifier in Saitama on Tuesday. | AFP-JIJI

Uneven Japan concludes qualifying campaign with draw against Vietnam


Saitama– A video game with few repercussions left plenty in the method of questions as Japan overcame a first-half scare to draw 1-1 with Vietnam in their final World Cup qualifier, less than 8 months prior to the tournament is arranged to kick off in Qatar.With qualification having actually currently been protected in Thursdays away win over Australia, head coach Hajime Moriyasu went to the reserves for his beginning lineup, providing Sydney hero Kaoru Mitoma his first start and Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate his first senior appearance.But Japans XI stopped working to gel on the pitch and fell victim to a extremely motivated and well-organized Vietnam side that pressed the home teams goal for much of the very first half, taking the lead in the 19th minute when Nguyen Thanh Binh headed a corner kick past veteran Samurai Blue goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. Japan captain Maya Yoshida scored the equalizer nearly 10 minutes in after Vietnam netminder Que Ngoc Hai failed to contain Genki Haraguchis very first effort, leaving the Sampdoria defender to strike on the rebound.As momentum moved to its favor, Japan set out for a game-winner with Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita and Ao Tanaka all coming on shortly after the hour mark.Tanaka appeared to have scored the go-ahead objective from outside the six-yard box in the 70th minute, just for VAR to call the play back after Minamino was evaluated to have devoted a handball in the build-up. The Japan Football Association announced a participation of 44,600, the largest house crowd the Samurai Blue have played in front of because the start of the coronavirus pandemic.Among those enjoying were numerous thousand Vietnamese fans who cheered throughout the game– and were consistently warned by the in-stadium commentator for breaking guidelines implied to prevent the transmission of coronavirus-carrying particles among attendees.The result ended Japans winning streak at 6 games and guaranteed the team of being placed in Pot 3 of the draw for the main competition in Qatar, a position that might result in a group with as numerous as two previous World Cup champions.

Saitama– A game with couple of effects left plenty in the way of questions as Japan overcame a first-half scare to draw 1-1 with Vietnam in their last World Cup qualifier, less than eight months before the competition is arranged to kick off in Qatar.With qualification having currently been secured in Thursdays away win over Australia, head coach Hajime Moriyasu went to the reserves for his beginning lineup, giving Sydney hero Kaoru Mitoma his first start and Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate his very first senior appearance.But Japans XI stopped working to gel on the pitch and fell victim to a efficient and extremely determined Vietnam side that pushed the home teams objective for much of the first half, taking the lead in the 19th minute when Nguyen Thanh Binh headed a corner kick previous veteran Samurai Blue goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. Japan captain Maya Yoshida scored the equalizer almost 10 minutes in after Vietnam netminder Que Ngoc Hai failed to contain Genki Haraguchis first effort, leaving the Sampdoria protector to pounce on the rebound.As momentum shifted to its favor, Japan set out for a game-winner with Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita and Ao Tanaka all coming on shortly after the hour mark.Tanaka appeared to have actually scored the go-ahead objective from outside the six-yard box in the 70th minute, just for VAR to call the play back after Minamino was evaluated to have actually devoted a handball in the accumulation. The Japan Football Association announced an attendance of 44,600, the biggest home crowd the Samurai Blue have actually played in front of because the start of the coronavirus pandemic.Among those watching were numerous thousand Vietnamese fans who cheered throughout the game– and were consistently cautioned by the in-stadium commentator for violating guidelines implied to avoid the transmission of coronavirus-carrying particles among attendees.The result ended Japans winning streak at 6 games and ensured the group of being positioned in Pot 3 of the draw for the primary competition in Qatar, a position that might result in a group with as many as two previous World Cup champions.

PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE).

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